In his new book, author Stephen Prothero compiles the texts and commentaries of The American Bible (Photo courtesy of HARPER COLLINS)

In his new book, author Stephen Prothero compiles the texts and commentaries of The American Bible (Photo courtesy of HARPER COLLINS)

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Author Stephen Prothero is a regular commentator on religion, politics and American culture (Photo courtesy of HARPER COLLINS).

Author Stephen Prothero is a regular commentator on religion, politics and American culture (Photo courtesy of HARPER COLLINS).

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America has a Bible, and knows how to disagree about it

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Tantamount to a title bout between two boxing heavyweights, a presidential election in America comes with a lot of fanfare. Just like boxing, the competitors will be weighed, the contenders and their entourages will trade vitriol and in the end, one participant will emerge the victor, by decision of course.

As the candidates spar over the next few months they will certainly quote the likes of Jefferson, Kennedy, King and Lincoln. They will call on quintessential American experiences and quote identical historical narratives, only to prove opposite points.

For Stephen Prothero, a professor at Boston University who regularly comments on religion, politics and their intersections with American culture, these political references to American heroes or heroic moments form America’s “Bible.”

“I think there is an American Bible,” said Prothero, “there is a canon that Americans have agreed upon that we return to in the same way that Christians refer to the biblical texts.”

Prothero said, “We treat these books like Scripture, holy writ, we quote them with authority, we bring down ancient wisdom and apply it to contemporary questions about abortion, gay marriage or tax policy.”

Gathering texts as diverse as Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, excerpts from Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Jefferson’s infamous letter to the Danbury Baptists in which he said that there is “a wall of separation” between church and state, Prothero not only assembled the text of the American Bible but brought together commentaries from both sides of the political spectrum.

In this way, the American Bible becomes the people’s text. “It was important to me that this is our bible and a ‘we the people’ conversation,” Prothero said.

Prothero commented on the differences in interpretation and said, “What people say about one text is so diverse, the American Bible can be interpreted in so many different ways…and is.”

“In this sense it is like the Jewish Talmud, a gathering of not only the core texts, but the ongoing discussion, the afterlife of a text, and the different interpretations that people have,” said Prothero.

It is no coincidence that this text was released in an election year. It is Prothero’s belief that American politics are broken and that hyper-partisanship rules the day where concord and civility for the sake of the nation should be paramount. Prothero worries that Americans have forgotten how to disagree with one another with graciousness, and all too often resort to rancor.

“Our conversations are tending towards incivility,” he said, “but we possess a great American tradition of conciliation.”

His other purpose is educational. As he did with his books Religious Literacyand God is Not One, Prothero hopes to educate Americans about the texts that form our national conversation and encourage an outlook that does not view difference in interpretation of these texts as necessarily negative.

“I am trying to address a knowledge gap and educate people about the importance of religion in American culture and world history,” said Prothero.

On this point Prothero wrote, “Many of the books in The American Bible are more revered than read.”

“I hope this book will inspire readers to go back to the sources themselves,” he said.

Looking back over time, Prothero found a rich history of diverse texts with varying interpretations, but also a common American commitment to argument for the greater good.

Prothero wrote with hope, “What makes us American is not our commitment to a particular reading of the Constitution or a particular understanding of liberty. What makes us Americans is our collective commitment to persist in this contentious conversation.”

Agreeing with Prothero and acclaiming his book, Harvey Cox, esteemed religious professor at Harvard University, said, “America is many things, but above all it is an ongoing conversation about ‘what America is.’”

In this book, Prothero assembled diverse voices from across the spectrum of this conversation. While many will undoubtedly disagree with his premise that America is not founded on one common creed, but a conversation, as soon as they take issue with Prothero’s point they will ironically take part in that very dialogue.

To his critics, those on the left and the right, Prothero concluded, “Americans speak different languages and worship different gods….but they come together to argue. This is our shared practice and it makes us a community. as surely as the Mass brings together Catholics or the sermon brings together Protestants.”